Fluid rectifier



April 1, 1941.

- R. E. PARKER FLUID RECTIFIER Filed June 14, 1937 Patented Apr. 1, 1941 f UNITED; STA T ENT OFFICE FLUID nnc'rmrna' Ross E. Parker, Toledo, Ohio Application June 14, 1937, Serial-No. 148,247 c claims. (olraid -s ip This invention relates to liquid rectifiers or purifiers but more particularly to a device for rectifying oil used in connection with internal combustion engines with the view of removing sediment, water, sludge, etc. from the oil during its circulation.

An object is to produce a simple and eificient liquid rectifier in which the liquid is caused to travel through a circuitous or tortuous path in such manner that the sediment, impurities and water will be gravitationally separated or dissociated from the remainder.

Another object is to produce a new and improved oil rectifier for use in connection with internal combustion engines which is inexpensive to manufacture, efficient in operation and reliable and sturdy in construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing in which a Figure 1 is a side elevation of an oil rectifler with a portion of the parts broken away to show the interior thereof; r

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pipe or tube through which the clean oil passes and also through which the sediment and the like is drained;

Fig, 3 is a sectional elevation of the partition or plug which is disposed inside of the'tube;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the casing with a portion of the wall broken away to show the interior structure and with the cap and outlet fitting omitted; V v

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6 indicating the manner in which the strip or sheet is wound about the inner tube;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation partly diagrammatic showing the manner in which the sheet is applied to and wound about theinn'er tube;

Fig. '7 is an elevation of a portion of the tube illustrating diagrammatically the manner in which the sheet is wound thereabout;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detailed view of an edge of the plate or strip which is wound about the inner tube showing the tongues or flanges on the side edge portions; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of an edge of an alternate form of spirally wound sheet which is corrugated instead of being flanged as indicated in Figure 8.

The illustrated embodiment of this invention comprises a housing which is "made up of two frusto-conical sections 1a and 1b. the section 'lbbeingfdeeper than the section la. The housingse ctions areeach made from pressed metal cl ps and one cup fits over the other. Each cup is grooved at their meeting edges to provide an opening to receivefan inlet pipe or duct 8 which may lead to the oil pump (not shown) of an interna-l combustion engine.

fDispo'sed centrally within the housing is a pipe or ftube 3 whichgextends through the housing, the-upper end being screw-threaded to receive a cap 2. which. carries a smaller pipe which is of asize; similar-to the inlet pipe 8 and which deliversrectifled oil to the working parts of the e gine; "Th'iopposite end portion of the pipe 3 may exitend'a substantial distance below the housing and thelower end portion is screw-threaded to receive a coupling Ill to which is" attached a petcock II, the handle ofwhich is held in position by a lock spring [2 which may also serve to prevent the lock; screw of the petcock valve stem from becoming disengaged. The coupling I0 is sodesigned that should any Water freeze within the lower portion of thepipe or tube 3, its ex ansion will be resisted by the coupling. If desired, a rubber hose maybe interposed in the lower portion of the-pipe 3 to militate against bursting of the pipe in the event of water freezmg; in" the inside "thereof.

Disposed inthe upper portion of the pipe 3 near the uppr"eiid of the hou;s ing section la g trans rs' elongate port lthrough which the rectifiedbrftreated"oil is adapted to pass, and disposedin a lower portion of the pipe 3 is an other transverse elongate port}! through which sludge and residue may-pass into the lower porti'on: of the pipe'fand be discharged therefrom through'the petcock [IQ Fittingwithin the tube 3 "at apointjuxtaposedlto the upper port 4 is a plug or bulkhead 5 Preferably the plug 5 is in the form of a soft-metaldiskwhich is inserted in the pipe '3.f"-B'y theuse of suitable tools, its diameter may be 'suflicieiitly increased so 'that'it will be securely 'held frictionally against" the in ner walls of the pipeI"'Figure '3 'indic'ate'sthe condition of the'disk after it has been expanded inthi's mannerD- Altortuous passage is provided through'which the oil'passes from'the inlet pipe 8 to the outlet port 4, the flow of the liquid being such that residue -or extraneous matter such as dirt, grit, sludge; "etc. is separated by gravitation. The meansgmaking up the chamber through which the tortuous I'p'ath fextends comprises a' sheet 6 of flexible materialTsuch-as .sheetmetal, the .in-

ner end portion A, or that portion which engages the pipe 3, being the widest and tapering to a relatively small end E (Figure 7). The sheet 6 is approximately thirty-five times greater in length than its maximum width. The inner end, as indicated in Figure 5, may be tapered to fit snugly against the tube 3 and is then wound in spiral overlapping fashion about the tube, the inner end being secured as by welding to the tube.

At the opposite side edge portions of the sheet 6 are inturned flanges 6a which are formed into a series of tongues by notches 61), it being noted that the tongues or flanges extend inwardly at an angle of 45, and the length of the tongues determine the breadth of the channel formed when the ribbon or sheet 6 is spirally wound. By providing the series of notches 61), it enables the tongues to fit closely together as indicated on Fig. 4 after the sheet has been wound in spiral manner. It will be apparent that the flanged tongues 6a serve to space one convolution from the next convolution. In order to hold the convolutions in place, the edges of the flanged tongues 6a are suitably fastened to the outer wall of the preceding convolution by solder or other suitable means and at the outer end of the ribbon or sheet 6, a pipe fitting 8 or inlet duct is swetted or otherwise suitably secured. As shown, the fitting is screw-threaded to receive a connecting pipe.

It will be apparent that the sheet or ribbon B is irregularly graduated from its maximum width at one end to its minimum width at the opposite end. It will also be apparent that the lower portion of the sheet is longer than the upper portion, thereby to fill substantially the housing section lb. The upper end of the sheet 6, as will readily be apparent from the drawing extends slightly above the outlet port 4 and the lower end of the sheet terminates at a point below the outlet port 9, there being a liquid-tight seal between the sheet and the pipe 3 as will be readily apparent. Y

In operation it will be understood that fluid or liquid such as oil is introduced to the rectifier through the inlet 8 from which it passes into a spiral channel of gradually increasing depth. After this channel or the main chamber of the rectifier is filled with the oil, it eventually reaches the outlet port 4 and then passes upwardly to the discharge line I. The lower portion of the chamber is deeper than the upper portion as will be readily apparent from an inspection of Figure 1. Thus any sediment, grit or other extraneous matter, including water, will tend gradually to settle to the lower portion and eventually reach the sediment port 9 and thence into the lower portion of the tube 3 to be drained at intervals from the petcock I I.

In the use of the rectifier in connection with internal combustion engines where the oil is pumped, a certain pulsatory or vibratory action will be imparted to the oil and thereby cause a certain pulsation to the column of air in the tube 3 between the sediment port 9 and the partition or bulkhead 5. This action of the air column in the tube 3 tends to militate against clogging of the sediment port 9 and empirically it is found that this pulsatory action, even though it is relatively slight, is suflicient to keep the port 9 relatively clean and free from clogging. This action also is of assistance in causing the sludge or other solid or semi-solid particles to be deposited in the lower portion of the tube 3.

According to the alternate form shown on Fig. 9, the side edges of the sheet 6' are formed with corrugations 6". Such corrugations will satisfactorily space the convolutions from each other and thereafter the interstices may be filled by solder or other suitable material which also serves to produce a liquid tight joint.

It will also be understood that the strip or ribbon 6 may be of more than one piece and may be of a material other than sheet metal although sheet metal is preferred.

Although the invention has been shown and described in connection with an oil rectifier, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited but can be used to advantage in handling other fluids. It is to be understood that changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A rectifier for treating liquids comprising a central tubular core having a sediment discharge outlet at the lower portion and an outlet at the upper portion for the treated liquid, a ribbon of flexible sheet material spirally wound upon said core, the inner end of said ribbon being widest and tapering therefrom to a relatively narrow outer end portion, means for forming a fluid tight joint between the inner end of the ribbon and the core, means for spacing and closing the spaces between adjacent convolutions to form a closed spiral chamber, said ribbon being of such length and width that the chamber formed permits the heavier constituents to separate from the lighter constituents of the liquid passing therethrough, and an inlet connected to the narrow portion of the ribbon, said sediment discharge outlet and outlet for the treated liquid being disposed within the confines of said ribbon.

2. A rectifier comprising means forming a housing the walls of which diverge from the lower end for a substantial distance and then converge to the upper end thereof, means forming a closed chamber and consisting of a spirally wound ribbon of flexible sheet material tapering from a relatively wide inner end to a relatively narrow outer end, means spacing and closing the spaces between the convolutions, an inlet for the closed chamber substantially at the junction of the diverging and converging walls, and vertically spaced discharge outlets for the closed chamber at the central portion of the ribbon.

3. A rectifier comprising means forming a housing the walls of which diverge from the lower end for a substantial distance and then converge to the upper end thereof, means forming a closed chamber and consisting of a spirally wound ribbon of flexible sheet material tapering from a relatively wide inner end to a relatively narrow outer end, means spacing and closing the spaces between the convolutions of the closed chamber, said spacing means comprising a series of tongues extending from opposite edges of said ribbon at an angle of approximately 45 and which are bonded to the next preceding convolution, an inlet for the closed chamber substantially at the junction of the diverging and converging housing walls, and vertically spaced discharge outlets for the chamber at the central portion of the ribbon.

4. A rectifier comprising means forming a housing the walls of which diverge from the lower end for a substantial distance and then converge to the upper end thereof, means forming a closed chamber and consisting of a spirally wound ribbon of flexible sheet material tapering from a relatively wide inner end to a relatively narrow outer end, means spacing and closing the spaces between the convolutions of said closed chamher, an inlet for the closed chamber substantially at the junction of the diverging and converging housing walls, a tube connected centrally of said chamber having an upper discharge port and a lower sediment port, and a partition in said tube intermediate said ports.

5. A rectifier comprising means forming a housing the walls of which diverge from the lower end for a substantial distance and then converge to the upper end thereof, means forming a closed chamber and consisting of a spiral wall tapering from a relatively wide inner end to a relatively narrow outer end with the convolutions of the wall spaced from each other, means for closing the spaces between said convolutions, an inlet for the chamber substantially at the meeting of the diverging and converging walls, a discharge outlet at the upper end of the chamber centrally thereof, and a sediment discharge Outlet at the lower end of the chamber centrally thereof.

6. A rectifier comprising a spiral duct open only at both ends and tapering in cross-sectional area to the extent that the chamber thus formed permits the heavier constituents to separate from the lighter consituents of the liquid passing therethrough, one of said open ends forming an inlet for said duct, a tube connected to and communicating with the other open end of said duct, said tube having upper and lower discharge outlets, said lower discharge outlet being for sediment, and means in said tube separating the upper outlet from the sediment discharge outlet.

ROSS E. PARKER. 

